Salama, Fathy

Oriental Jazz | Egypt

Posed between jazz and tradition, Fathy Salama is one of the most talented ambassadors of the Egyptian music scene. Born in Cairo, he started playing the piano at the age of six, learning the roots of traditional Arabic music then went on to study jazz in Egypt and the United States with such great artists as Sun Râ.

Creating many hits in Cairo during the 80's, touring the world, and winning two prizes for his film soundtracks, it is with the Sharkiat band that Fathy is making his dream of merging modern and traditional music come true, thus expressing both a message from his home country and his love of music.
"Sharkiat"'s improvisations, a feature common to Arabic music and jazz, are built on a deep knowledge of the Arab heritage. The music created by this multitalented pianist and composer has unique flavours that seduces both foreign and Arab audiences.

Fathy Salama recently won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Music Album for his production on African superstar Youssou N'Dour's 'Allah'.

He has recently released 'Sultany', a compilation of his two albums with Sharkiat previously released in the 90's.